Since Merdeka, two million Malaysians have migrated overseas because they do not see a future for themselves and for Malaysia. It is time that we don’t live in our past that is filled with hatred and fear. We should look to the future filled with hope and harmony between all Malaysians.

 To put the past behind us, we must stop the politics of race and religion.

 To put the past behind us, we must end corruption.

 To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedoms.

In fact, MCA is not qualified to be here to discuss about policies because MCA does not decide, it is UMNO that decides. MCA claims to speak only for the Chinese, and yet only the Chinese in the Peninsula, and not the Chinese in Sabah and Sarawak. This is different from the DAP, that wants to speak for all Malaysians. DAP mahu bersuara untuk semua orang Malaysia: Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan dan Iban, kerana kita semua rakyat Malaysia, bukan macam MCA, yang kononnya mahu mewakili orang Cina sahaja.

Every Malaysian has, in their daily activities, had dealings with Macom Bhd., the company which flourished under the tenure of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Even foreign investors have been involved in transactions with Macom. Just in case you’re not aware, Macom stands for ‘Makan Commission’.

At some point in the past, our integrity was compromised. Umno and to a large extent, Mahathir, were responsible. Umno Baru was created to keep the Malays ignorant and stupid (Melayu di perbodohkan), as Mahathir might say.

It is a story which has been told repeatedly. The Malays, under Mahathir, became rich beyond their wildest dreams. In one generation, the Malays and their values were compromised. The non-Malays are not blameless, especially the ones who played along with Macom.

The people who control Macom don’t want things to change. The Malay who prefers to keep quiet and not rock the boat, is preferable to one who makes his government and leaders accountable for their every action. Read the rest of this entry »

Many of the people in the news these days – and, by and large, that, of course, means BN politicians – really must have been smoking some pretty bad weed, as it were.

Indeed, it’s as though, in their stupor, they’d been soliciting roadside snake oil merchants to get some modal – anything that’s deemed mujarab – from how to come up with expensive and totally unconvincing, made-in-Thailand sex videos, to tall tales of infidelity that even a village idiot would find far-fetched and absolutely ridiculous.

Many of us, on the other hand, wish that, instead, they would spend their time – and our money – on more constructive, productive and, certainly, creative pursuits, like resolving the country’s debt problems and really, genuinely, bringing down our crime statistics.

Indeed, we wish that they would do the job that they were put there for in the first place instead of just bumming around making mischief.

JULY 8 — When I was very young I remember looking at a set of pictures of post World War 2 America. The picture that struck me most was a water cooler with two taps on either side. The one on the left said Blacks Only and the one on the other side said Whites Only.

To many parents in Malaysia that picture still exists when their children choose to go for government subsidised pre university education. The non Bumiputeras will be shunted to the left to take the Form Six route and the Bumiputeras will be shunted to right to take the Matriculation route.

From the statement made by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin there appears to be a difference between the two. There was a perception that matriculation courses were far better than Form Six and that Form Six was viewed as a last resort for getting into tertiary education.

A plan is being put into place to boost the image and perception of Form Six. A “rebranding” exercise would be carried out to boost the perception of Form Six. The syllabus and structure will be revamped. Logistical aspects of centralizing students and strong support systems would be looked into. Students would no longer have to wear the school uniform. Read the rest of this entry »

The mainstream newspapers have been going at great guns with the so-called TalamCorp scandal. Understandbly because they are partial to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. As for the alternative media, the reverse is true as some are partial to BN’s political foes, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Yet, there’s a marked difference between PR and BN which can be seen by how each one has serious allegations of corruption and mismanagement and their respective reaction to the claims.

In the TalamCorp case, PR leaders are prepared to have a White Paper on the matter although it is puzzling why there has not been one since the case came up in 2010.

And PR MPs such as Tony Pua and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and even Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim are all willing to lift the veil of corporate secrecy and explain the numbers to the public. After all, it involves public institutions and funds from the time the deal was struck when Selangor was under BN rule.

JULY 7 — We are familiar with the seasonal bargain sales whenever we approach the days of cultural and religious festivities. Even before Hari Raya (the Muslim religious festivities after a month long of fasting), the public is flooded with all sorts of bargain sales.

A popular clothing merchant has launched its pre-Hari Raya sales of fine textiles. Other merchants have also launched their own bargain sales.

These bargain sales, however, pale in comparison with the bargain sales offered by the chief snake-oil peddler in Malaysia — the PM.

By means of logrolling bargains, he dishes out economic morsels large enough to secure the votes from the public. Logrolling is a term used commonly in the US to refer to the granting of fevers by politicians seeking re-election to selected groups in exchange for their support and votes.

Najib’s grant of an advance of RM 15,000 to Felda settlers is a logrolling act. Now, Felda settlers realize they have been short-changed. The 15,000 is a sweetener to lessen the anger at receiving 810 units of share amounting to around RM 600 gross value in profit. Settlers have been used and piggybacked by rent seekers to make a killing at the stock market. Read the rest of this entry »